Family: Balsaminaceae [E-flora]
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Introduction
"Policeman's helmet is an introduced summer annual that is native to the Himalayas, but has spread around the world since seeds were first sent from the Himalayas to KEW gardens in England in 1839. In North America it is found in the USA, primarily along the Pacific Coast and in the New England States (CA, CT, ID, MA, ME, MI, MT, NY, OR, VT, WA) and in Canada it is found in eight provinces (BC, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, QC) (USDA 2010). In British Columbia, it is found primarily in the southern part of the province, around Victoria, in the Fraser Valley, and in southeastern BC Policeman's helmet is an easily identified species of Impatiens, 0.6 to 2.0 m in height, which produces distinctive white to pink, purple-spotted flowers with short recurved spurs. Flowering occurs from July to September. It can form thick homogeneous stands in moist shady spots along creeks, riverbanks and sloughs and in open sunny ditches. It produces abundant seed in seed capsules that explode when ripe allowing near dispersal and thick growth. The earliest collection record for this species in the UBC Herbarium is 1937, when it was collected at Still Creek, BC by John Eastman." [E-flora]
"[Policeman's helmet's] high reproductive rate, early germination, propensity for establishing thick stands, rich nectar production, hardiness, and habitat tolerance and plasticity have allowed it to spread rapidly, dominate landscapes, and compete with and displace native plant species." (Global Invasives Database 2010)."[E-flora]
Origin Status: Exotic [E-flora]Habitat / Range
"Moist to mesic streambanks, meadows, roadsides and waste places in the lowland and steppe zones; infrequent in the lower Fraser Valley and extreme SC BC; introduced from Asia." [IFBC-E-flora]
See below
"The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Impatience', 'Irritability' and 'Extreme mental tension'[209]. It is also one of the five ingredients in the 'Rescue remedy'[209]." [PFAF]
Preparation: "The flower essence remedy Impatiens is prepared employing the sun method. To prepare this Bach Flower Remedy, you need to only pick the light mauve flowers. These flowers need to be collected along with their thin stalks and subsequently be floated on water in a bowl. The bowl containing the flowers needs to be positioned in such a manner that the surface is properly exposed to sunlight. It is important to select a location where the impatiens flowers bloom really robustly and they need to be picked from as many different plants as you can." [herbs2000.com]
Uses : "As the name suggests, the flower essence remedy Impatiens is especially effective in treating condition wherein an individual lacks tolerance or patience and has a propensity to nervousness as well as restiveness." [herbs2000.com]
"Many plants have root systems that are morphological combinations of the above forms and/or exhibit intermediate forms of behaviour. In particular, the exact location and angle of growth of roots close to the soil surface are often more important than the presence of a tap root or of prop roots in determining the mode of anchorage failure. For example, both sunfl ower (Helianthus annuus) with its large tap root and laterals that grow radially outwards and downwards, and Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) with its prop root system, behave in failure like the plate systems of trees with a leeward hinge (Ennos et al., 1993). In both plants, the wide spread of the lateral or prop roots restricts rotational or downward movement of the root system so that the system can only fail by being levered upwards." [Gregory PR]
"The determination of rates of mycorrhizal colonisation in I. glandulifera and its competitors, both woody and herbaceous, might provide further evidence of the changes caused by I. glandulifera invasion. Perhaps the most critical information required is the rate at which the naphthoquinones (or other allelochemicals produced by Impatiens) break down in the soil. The relatively low solubility of juglone and its ability to accumulate in the soil to phytotoxic levels under certain conditions has been noted by researchers (von Kiparski, Lee & Gillespie, 2007) and it has been known to persist in soil for up to a year after the removal of the walnut tree producing it (Crist & Sherf, 1973). If the naphthoquinones found in I. glandulifera or other Impatiens species can be shown to behave in a similar way, it would support the assertion that I. glandulifera’s competitors might experience negative chemical interference due to the production and accumulation of allelochemicals in the soil. The evidence gained from the Rhizosphere Method experiment described in Chapter 7 seems to suggest a very limited persistence of root exudates in the soil and in fact these produced stimulatory effect in many cases as the roots decayed. This may reflect the enhanced rate of microbial activity causedby the relatively high soil temperatures obtained when the plants were grown in a temperature controlled room and may not be representative of the effects produced by the cooler temperatures found in the soil under natural stands of I. glandulifera." [Smith,2013]
Stem: lower generally with adventitious roots. Leaf: alternate, opposite, or whorled; stipules 0 or gland-like. Flower: variously spotted or lined; sepals 3, lateral 2 greatly reduced, ± green, lower with nectar spur, not green; petals apparently 3, lateral 2 forming a lip, upper 1 a banner over mouth of tube. Fruit: green. Seed: 1–7, green to black, ridged or papillate.
± 850 species: tropics, warm temperate, Eurasia, Africa, boreal America. (Latin: impatient, from explosive fruit) [Zika 2006 Novon 16:443–448]
Unabridged references: [Zika 2006 J Torrey Bot Soc 133:593–600; Zika, P. F. 2006. Impatiens ×pacifica (Balsaminaceae), a new hybrid jewelweed from the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Novon 16: 443–448; Zika, P. F. 2006. The status of Impatiens capensis (Balsaminaceae) on the Pacific Northwest coast. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133: 593–600.] [Jepson]
Species Mentioned:
I. noli-tangere, I. ecalcarata, I. glandulifera; "Regular ingestion of large quantities of these plants can be dangerous due to their high mineral content[172]. This report, which seems nonsensical, might refer to calcium oxalate. This mineral is found in I. capensis and so is probably also in other members of the genus. It can be harmful raw but is destroyed by thoroughly cooking or drying the plant[K]. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones and hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet[238]." [PFAF]
Only young cooked jewelweed shoots and leaves should be eaten. Jewelweed has such a high mineral content, excess quantities could be harmful. In older plants, a bitter principle develops that can be purgative to the intestinal tract. Don't consume the mature foliage.
Herb crushed and rubbed directly on poison ivy sores as an itch-relieving treatment. Some use the juice. Jewelweed has fungicidal properties and has been used to treat athlete's foot. Rubbed on skin rashes and eczema.
Another method entails boiling jewelweed stems and leaves and washing with the decoction; You can freeze the decoction so the remedy is available whenever needed.
Though poison ivy is lacking in Alaska, nettles and cow parsnips abound. Rash-prone people might try bathing in a jewelweed herbal bath before gardening near these skin-irritating herbs. This is reported to be a good preventive.
The fresh herb, boiled in lard, makes a salve said to be effective on hemorrhoids. The expressed juice is recommended for warts and ringworm.
I. capensis; "Jewelweed was commonly used as a medicinal herb by a number of native North American Indian tribes[257], and has been widely used in domestic medicine. Its main value lies in its external application for wounds and a range of skin complaints. However, it is little used in modern herbalism and is considered to be dangerous and 'wholly questionable' when used internally[4]. The herb is antidote, cathartic, diuretic and emetic[4, 172, 207, 213]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of fevers, difficult urination, measles, stomach cramps, jaundice etc[257]. The juice of the leaves is used externally in the treatment of piles, fungal dermatitis, nettle stings, poison ivy rash, burns etc[4, 172, 207, 213, 257]. The sap is used to remove warts[207]. A poultice of the leaves is applied to bruises, burns, cuts etc[222]. " [PFAF]
I. noli-tangere; "The plant is antiseptic, diuretic, strongly emetic, laxative and vulnerary[4, 9, 61]. It has been used in the treatment of stranguary and haemorrhoids[4]. The plant is occasionally used internally in the treatment of haemorrhoids and as a laxative and diuretic, but the dose must be carefully adhered to since large quantities are strongly emetic[9]. The plant is harvested at any time in the summer[9]." [PFAF]
I. parviflora; "Antidote, parasiticide. Used in the treatment of warts, ringworm, nettle stings, poison ivy rash etc[172]. " [PFAF]